The total amount of outright gifts to Sam Houston State University for 1999-2000 was $2,231,400, an increase of 17.2 percent over the previous year, according to the Office of University Advancement.Increases were experienced in several areas, such as gifts from private foundations, gifts from corporations and the number of alumni donors, said Gary Bouse, executive director of university advancement. The university continues to work with an increased number of individuals on planned gifts through their estates.A total of 485 Sam Houston alumni donated $348,437 during the fiscal year 2000. This number represents 1 percent of all SHSU alumni with known addresses and is a 22 percent increase over the fiscal year 1999. Seventy-one percent of the donations was dedicated to scholarships. Seven percent was given to academic divisions and 10 percent went to Sams athletic programs. Eleven percent went to other purposes, such as alumni relations, the Presidents Discretionary Fund and NCAA academic advising. Finally, 1 percent was dedicated to research, the library and public service/extension, such as the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.In the five years since 1995 the dollar value of gifts to the university and the number base of those giving has increased, said President Bobby K. Marks. Our permanent endowments have increased 85 percent, and we hope by the end of this year they will have more than doubled.The three largest gifts by alumni were in the amount of $136,000, $25,000 and $24,566.6all designated for scholarships. The names of these donors are not released without their permission.The state of Texas gives us enough money to offer quality academic programs, but not enough to reach the levels of excellence to which we, as a university, are committed, Marks said. We must have private partners in education in order to achieve our goals of excellence.
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